Ideal Heating launched its first heat pump production line at its Hull site in August 2023, the company has said, and has invested further in the facility since1. The line forms part of a £60m investment programme at the Hull site covering production, distribution and research and development, with a specific focus on heat pumps1.
In November 2024 the company said it had received the first award from the Government's Heat Pump Investment Accelerator competition, a grant of £5.2m shared with cylinder maker Gledhill1. Ideal Heating pledged a further £6.8m of its own money for heat pump production, taking the combined total to just over £12m1. The company states the investment will enable production of 115,000 air source heat pumps and indoor controls at Hull annually by 2030, and 120,000 pre-plumbed hot water cylinders a year at Gledhill's Blackpool site over the same timescale1.
"In August 2023, we launched our first heat pump production line in Hull and have since invested further in this facility."
Construction is described as well advanced on a £19m UK Technology Centre in Hull, intended as a testbed for product innovation including heat pump technologies1. The company's Expert Academy training arm is involved in retraining gas engineers to work with heat pumps and other low carbon solutions1. Miatta Fahnbulleh, Minister for Energy Consumers, visited the Hull headquarters and the company's National Training and Technology Centre near the Humber Bridge to mark the funding1.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Government funding, shared with Gledhill | £5.2m |
| Further Ideal Heating investment pledged | £6.8m |
| Combined total | Just over £12m |
| Hull heat pump and controls output target by 2030 | 115,000 a year |
| Gledhill Blackpool cylinder output target by 2030 | 120,000 a year |
| Hull site investment programme | £60m |
| UK Technology Centre, Hull | £19m |
Ideal Heating's heat pump range sits alongside its longstanding boiler business, and the company appears in the site's heat pump manufacturers listing. Gledhill is part of the same group as Ideal Heating, as covered in the guide to Keston and Ideal Heating.
Why it matters for households
The number of heat pump models made in the UK, and the volume in which they are made, affects how quickly the supply chain can serve homes that want to move away from gas. Ideal Heating states that heating the nation's 28 million homes accounts for almost a fifth of all UK greenhouse gas emissions, rising to almost 40 per cent when commercial properties are included1. Domestic heat pump production does not by itself change what a household pays for heating, and no figures on unit prices, running costs or installation costs appear in the company's announcement. What it does indicate is domestic manufacturing capacity for the equipment itself, which is one input into how readily a home can be fitted with a heat pump rather than a gas boiler. The company frames the funding as a boost to UK energy security and to low carbon jobs1, though it gives no figures for either.
What happens next
The company states the Hull line will reach 115,000 air source heat pumps and indoor controls a year by 2030, with Gledhill's Blackpool site reaching 120,000 pre-plumbed cylinders a year in the same period1. Construction of the £19m UK Technology Centre in Hull is described as well advanced, with no completion date given1. No dates have been reported for further funding awards under the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator competition.
Sources1 cited
- Ideal Awarded Government Funding to Accelerate UK Heat Pump Production, idealheating.com